I have a confession...

I need to get something off my chest that has been there for a long, long time (just over 2 years, to be exact). Some of you may not know this, but I have an unhealthy obsession with one particular thing (place). It consumes my thoughts day and night and is sometimes the only thing that motivates me to get my lazy butt out of bed in the mornings.

The place in question... is DISNEY WORLD! Duh!

I have been to WDW approximately 9 times in my life. It is my very favorite place on the planet, and I would pack a bag in 3 seconds and fly there TONIGHT if I had the chance.

I'm not really sure when the obsession started, but it has grown stronger in the 2 years since I last visited with my aunt, my cousin, and her father. I had a blast with my little cousin, who was visiting for the first time! It was great to see everything through the eyes of a child again.

I am constantly planning a visit to WDW in my head. Thoughts like, "How soon can I get there?" and "How much will it cost?" and "Is it ridiculous to sell everything we own so we can get the Park Hopper tickets?" A photo of Cinderella's Castle is the cover photo on my Facebook page. I listen to Disney music when I get ready for work in the mornings.

I can't wait to go back again! 

;)

Saturdays

I love Thursdays.

(What?! The title of this post is Saturday.) 

I know.

I just... I love Thursdays because they allow me to be excited about the weekend. It's in sight! It's right around the corner! It's so close! And, I only have one day of work left until the REAL treat... 

Saturday!

Like most human beings, Saturdays are my favorite day of the week (except Sundays, duh. Church!). I love being able to "sleep in" and then do all kinds of things that I can't do during the week! Here are some of my favorite Saturday things:

1. Sleeping in. Duh? Did I even need to mention this one? Here's the thing, though- to me, "sleeping in" means setting my alarm for 8AM instead of 6AM (or, 8:01AM instead of 6:01AM, because I love odd numbers). I can't stand the thought of sleeping away one of my precious days off! I don't want to have regrets, like...

2. Donuts. For the past few weeks, I've been running to a local store on Saturday mornings to buy a few donuts to share with my boy. They are freshly made and CRUNCHY (which is obviously the best kind of donut, right? I'm not joking!).

3. YARD SALES. This only comes second because the aforementioned donuts are just SO good. I'm a sucker for a good yard sale... especially when I have a little money to spare! Some of my favorite things to look for are old jewelry, dressers (weird, right?), and any kind of glass jar/container/anything.

4. Cleaning. After around noon, I'm tuckered out and basically want to do nothing but sit on the couch and watch movies with the cat. (Thomas usually works Saturday afternoons, booooo!) BUT! I make myself clean our little house. Cleaning usually takes less than an hour, and it makes me feel so much better about my whole life. I am able to actually relax when it's all finished.

5. Anticipation! For those of you who don't know, I have another blog called Clip Smarter where I talk about my obsession love with saving money by using coupons! I typically spend Saturday nights browsing websites for sneak peeks of killer deals so I know right where to go when Sunday afternoon rolls around and my precious coupons are clipped!

What is your favorite things about Saturday?

Marriage (Take II)

I've been hearing lots of comments about marriage lately. None of them have been said to me, but I love to listen to people talk and hear snippets of conversations as I walk around and do... whatever I'm doing.

Yesterday I was at the grocery store in the school supplies section (so, um, I was totally in heaven!) and trying to choose a notebook to buy, and a young couple with a child came rolling around the corner, clearly agitated. I heard the man say to the woman, "Well, trust me. I'm only with you because I married you."

Ouch.

Then, today, I overheard someone tell someone else, "Marriage shouldn't have to be hard. You shouldn't have to work at it, it should just work itself out. If you have to try to make it work, something's wrong." I thought to myself, What universe is she from?!

When I first became engaged, I thought that marriage would just be wonderful. Thomas and I would still have the same kind of effortless relationship that we had always had, except that we would also be living together. We would have the perfect little house and a nice little car and probably a dog. We'd have the occasional argument, but we'd kiss and make up.

And then... the wedding planning came. We both had totally different ideas of what our wedding should look like, and we are also both extremely stubborn. It was a struggle to come to an agreement most of the time. We managed to get through it.

And then... the honeymoon began. To be honest, I'm pretty sure that Thomas and I had our first "married argument" in the car on the way to the reception. (He didn't turn in the right place, even though I told him exactly where to go!) We also struggled to find a balance on our honeymoon. He wanted to buy things like comic books, and I wanted to save as much money as possible for the "real world" that I was so afraid of.

And then... married life began. It's great! But, we aren't perfect. (Thomas actually told me a few months ago that one of his friends was shocked to hear us arguing, because they thought that we never disagreed. I think I laughed until I cried on that one!) We argue. We disagree. We even shout (frequently). We're both stubborn, and we're both always right. We mess up.

But... in spite of all that, I could NEVER use such biting words as the man in the store who I mentioned earlier. And, I would never, ever dream of telling anyone that marriage isn't hard work. Because it is. It's the hardest thing I've ever done, but it's also the most wonderful. I like my guy. Sometimes, I think I'll actually keep him around for awhile.

:)

It's HOT!

I mean, not to complain or anything, but I feel like the sun is located directly in my living room. Four feet away from me. Our house is currently 83 degrees (which, I must say, is an improvement from the 85 degrees it was earlier tonight)! This girl was NOT cut out for summer living!

In other news, I had a bucket-list check-off last night... I finally saw The Jonas Brothers in concert! I went with my best friend Kay, and it was one of my favorite nights ever. We hadn't seen each other since my wedding (seriously?! what is wrong with us?) but we picked up right where we left off last time! That's my favorite thing about friends! This is the only picture of us from last night, and please excuse the hot messes we are. We were, literally, hot messes. It was approximately one million degrees and also one million percent humidity! Both my makeup and my hair had melted before we left the parking lot. Sheesh!

It was such a great night, though! I am absolutely, completely, unashamedly in love with Nick Jonas. No worries, though- Thomas knows and completely understands. It was a 2-hour drive to the concert and another 2 hours home, so I finally rolled into the driveway around 1AM and then made my sweet, loving husband take the car back out for gas so I could die go to bed. This morning, I made a giant pot of coffee and poured it into a travel mug... which I promptly dropped upon stepping outside to leave for work. Whatevs! I stopped at Tim Horton's for breakfast (and iced coffee). Out of the budget... but whatever. I figured that if I didn't drink coffee and I didn't eat breakfast, I'd be so cranky that I'd get fired, so it really was a mature financial decision on my part (or so I'm telling myself)!

Here are some other snippets -

- I love my new job! Love, love, love. There is no other word. I work with wonderful people and hilarious kids. Check out this gem...

-Our cat has to be shaved! Poor baby has so much matted fur because she absolutely won't let us brush it out! Also, because she is SO hot all the time. I'm looking forward to a happier kitty, but I sure am going to miss all that fur!

-We're slowly but surely paying off debts! Each paycheck brings us a little closer to being debt-free, and I just love it.

That's all for now! Happy Wednesday!

Camp & Hospital Trip

Well, this session of summer camp is almost over! I can't even explain how happy I will be tomorrow to take down the cacti and cowboys that have decorated my room for the past 5 weeks. The next theme is "Africa Safari," and I couldn't be more excited!

I went to see one of my campers in the hospital today! She looked so little, laying on the bed hooked up to a big mask... she had an infection caused by strep (of all things) and has been in the hospital for almost 2 weeks now.

Funny stories, though... as I parked my car in the parking garage and went into the elevator to get into the actual hospital, I hit the button "P2" because I was told to go to the second floor... and a little girl in the elevator with her mom had to explain to me that that button led to "Parking Level 2," not the second floor of the hospital. Oops!

I eventually got into the hospital and tried to go straight for the elevator, until I was stopped by a security officer who told me I needed a visitor's badge. I went to the desk, showed my ID, and then got my badge. I hopped on the elevator, hit the right button this time, and got to the correct floor.

Walking down the hallway, I was sure of where I was going... until I got to where I thought I needed to be, and there were doctors and nurses all over the place, chatting and (I assume they were clocking out) on a computer. I walked back down the hallway, found the nicest-looking nurse, and said, "I've never been there before and I have absolutely no idea where I'm going!" She kindly led me to the right room (which was right beyond where all of the doctors and nurses were!) and I stood at the door and peeked in. A lady in a gown walked up and said, "Can I help you?" I replied, "I'm here to see (child's name)!" She stared me down and said, "I'm her mom..."

And then I had the divine realization that I had never met her mom before!

Duh! 

It was much less awkward after that. The child was sleeping, but I was able to give her mom all of the things the other campers had made for her. After I said goodbye, I made it out of the hospital without any more mishaps (besides being locked on the floor I was visiting... nothing unusual). I'm super glad that I got to go see her... even though she was sleeping the whole time, she briefly opened her eyes when I greeted her, and it was so great to see her beautiful eyes!

Giddy!

Look! It's only been a few days, and here I am again!

I'm just so excited about something that I need to tell SOMEONE (even if that "someone" is a blog that nobody follows or even reads). For the past few months, Husband and I have been trying to get our finances in order. We have been very careful about our spending... and it's paying off! In the last month alone, we have been able to pay off almost $600 in debt (to be exact, it's $573). We now only have 3 big things to pay off, and one of those is the car!

Giddy. That's what I am.

Just giddy.

Turns out...

Well, it turns out that I'm not necessarily good at keeping up with a blog. I feel like when I get too far behind, it's silly to start writing again. But, here I am!

Since my last post, I have...

• moved
• watched my husband graduate from college
• changed jobs
• started a coupon blog (Clip Smarter)

I am hoping to begin regular posts again (regular, as in a few times per week). Stay tuned! Or, you know, don't. In the meantime, here is a picture of my very grown-up kitty!